Our K003 Conversion Kit makes a xxx-4 into an X - 5 Squared. Check it out at www.4wdrc.com

I'm biased, but we believe the newly updated X - 5 Squared remains the fastest car in the class. Ellis is the U.K. Indoor Champion, and Antoine is leading the French National Series. X - 5s won the Dutch and Swiss Championships this year. Watch what Brian does next year when he's got some practice under his belt -- both of his X Cars are ballistic at Competition Hobbies.

The xx-4 suspension is simply magic, and nothing accelerates faster than the X - 5 Squared. Anyone with a xx-4 will be awed with the acceleration. Anybody with a xxx-4 will love the handling and durability. It's like F-1 on dirt.

Don't mean for that to be a commercial, just what I believe is an honest answer to a question.

I can attest to the acceleration of the X-5, it is unbelieveable, everyone would ask...what motor do you have in that thing, it wasn't the motor, it was the X-5's design that made it so fast. I did have trouble with the chassis's breaking easily, but X-factory has come out with an improved chassis/ material that is supposed to help with that.

The X-5 is very good and solid design as it's based off the very proven and very successful XX-4 Worlds Edition. They won a national championship with it a few years ago. I was able to win a series of races with it in Region 5 that ranged from a very loose and bumpy blown out track to a very grooved and high bite track. The X-5 swept the 3 day, 3 track event with TQ, fast lap, and win at each track. I've not ran it in a few years because electric racing as been about non existent in the area but I'm gearing back up the electrics for bit of traveling this winter and it's the car I'm going to use.

The X - 5 drives very, very similar to the XX4, especially through the rough stuff. We suggest in the manual and in person that, if you're upgrading from a XX4, you start with exactly the same set-up as you were running on your new X - 5, that's how similar they work. You'll make a few changes from that set-up, obviously, but any good XX4 set-up is a very good base set-up for the X - 5 squared.

I still have my trusty old XX4 but I only get to race it a couple times a year.

Paul, can you recomend a setup for an indoor smooth "pink taper" type track. It normally has good bite.. sometimes slicks in the morning but drys out during the day...

BTW, if I have an insane fast motor in my XX4.... that can overcome the drivetrain drag, how would the X5 accelerate faster? Just curious.... I figured it was only a matter of horsepower vs. drag, since they are essentially the same car.

With the exception of the x-5 having very sensitive input to throttle control it handles the rough like any other xx-4. I've been running it now for a season and have all the same good things to say as the xx-4 and none of the bad. I use Chris Bridgewaters stock nats setup. I was at that race and the track was pretty rough. So it is my setup of choice. I just change tires.

I still have my trusty old XX4 but I only get to race it a couple times a year.

Paul, can you recomend a setup for an indoor smooth "pink taper" type track. It normally has good bite.. sometimes slicks in the morning but drys out during the day...

BTW, if I have an insane fast motor in my XX4.... that can overcome the drivetrain drag, how would the X5 accelerate faster? Just curious.... I figured it was only a matter of horsepower vs. drag, since they are essentially the same car.

I can highly recommend my X - 5 set-up form the 2004 Columbus mid-winter, found here (.pdf file). There are lots of good X - 5 set-ups on the set-up page off the 4wdrc tech section, found here. If you want to give the set-up jkirkwood posted above a shot, that's a good starting point too.

About the "insane fast motor" in the XX4... I've given this a bit of thought over the past few years, as its a very good point. Here's been my thinking: Assuming both drivelines are built correctly, the X - 5 driveline will have less friction/rotating mass than the XX4. This means that for a given motor, you'll have more acceleration in an X - 5 than a XX4. OK... your point here is, "I have all the (insane) motor I need in my XX4, so the there's no more usable acceleration to be had..." Well, I think that if that's truly the case, then switching to an X - 5 will actually let you motor down while keeping the same speed, leading to a more controllable car that's just as fast in a straight line - and more control is always faster overall. Not to mention less wear and tear, better battery life, less heat, etc etc...

Also, there are a whole host of other improvements in the X - 5 over the XX4 besides the driveline... most notably is just the work/maintenance aspect. Changing a spur gear or slipper assembly is a four bolt project; much faster than a XX4 even with the rear belt tunnel cut. The diffs in the X - 5 come out in 8 screws... I've changed a belt in my car in less than 10 minutes total. Finally, while the weight distribution of the X - 5 is very close to the XX4, we actually centered the weight more front to rear, leading to a car that if anything reacts faster to inputs in the air and over rough terrain.